HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF – Projects Timeline

Project Timeline: Major Events in Weeks Following Earthquake:

➢    Week Two (Jan 18th): Real Medicine arrives on the scene in the Dominican Republic’s Haitian border and performs needs assessments at the following border hospitals in Jimaní:
o    Good Samaritan Hospital
o    Melenciano Hospital

Both facilities began receiving patients immediately after the earthquake and grew to become hubs for Advanced Surgery and Intensive Care procedures.
➢    Week Two (Jan 18th): RMF procures and delivers a shipment of over 3,500lbs in medical supplies and equipment, flown into Barahona, Dominican Republic, in support of efforts at:
o    Trauma Units at both Jimaní hospitals
o    An ICU for critically-injured children at the Barahona Medical Clinic.

➢    Week Three (Jan 26th): Tapping into its network of physicians, Real Medicine:
o    Provided the first pediatrician in the Barahona area.
o    Helped staff and coordinate a mobile outreach field clinic for several hundred patients at remote villages on the Haiti/ Dominican Republic border.

RMF remains positioned to continue to support volunteer deployments for these border hospitals and clinics.

➢    Week Three (Jan 27th): In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, RMF teams visit the main community hospitals still in operation after the initial destruction (including L’Hôpital de la Communauté Haïtienne in Pétion-Ville, and General Hospital, located at the earthquake’s epicenter) to determine their staffing and supply needs and gather information on the initial relief effort, comprised mostly of ongoing search & rescue, recovery of bodies, debris clearing and food distribution.

o    RMF identifies over 20,000 refugees in 11 camps throughout Port-au-Prince who had yet to receive food and water since the earthquake.
o    RMF is able to place all 11 communities on the WFP/UNICEF master food and water distribution lists to ensure that these displaced communities receive support.
o    RMF meets with the director of the WHO Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to assist with staffing deployment at the highest in country organizational level.

➢   Week Four (Feb 3rd): In addition to establishing collaborations with the UN aid organizations, RMF works in conjunction with the Provision Foundation (out of Knoxville, TN) to identify multiple permanent clinic sites in both rural and urban locations in Port-au-Prince.
o    In less than 2 days and with the support of over 40 community members, including carpenters, welders, electricians, plumbers and medical teams from Real Medicine and Provision, RMF establishes the first fully functioning, free Primary Healthcare Clinic in this region. Located in Pernier, Port-au-Prince, this clinic brings primary health access to more than 15,000 local Haitians.

o    Clinic is comprised of:
•     4 examination rooms, including: pediatrics, internal medicine, minor surgery, & obstetrics/gynecology (including deliveries and day beds)
•    Triage Room
•    Laboratory for basic testing & diagnosis services
•    Pharmacy
•    1 dedicated room for rehabilitation, physical therapy and prosthesis outreach service
o    Currently, 150-200 patients are seen per day.

➢    Week Four (Feb 4th): One day later, we opened a second clinic in downtown Port-au-Prince, in close proximity to the epicenter. The clinic building is the only house standing in the area.

➢    Week Five (Feb 8th): The Pernier Clinic transforms into a food distribution center for food supplies donated through an Arabian Philanthropist.  News spreads, and over 1,000 people line up in the early morning to receive rations. Although emotions were high, 5 Jordanian UN Peacekeepers and church leaders from the local community ensure that the day runs smoothly.  Food is provided to over 2,500 people.

➢    Week Five (Feb 15th): RMF officially forms a partnership with CDTI Sacred Heart Hospital (Hôpital Sacré Coeur) near the epicenter in Port-au-Prince. Through another partner, Direct Relief International, Real Medicine establishes a monthly procurement of medications and supplies for Sacred Heart & Pernier Clinic.

o    The initial DRI contribution comprises more than $230K in pharmaceuticals & medical supplies, including antibiotics and hypertension medications, Pedialyte children’s rehydration drinks, adult electrolyte supplements, IV stands, sterile water and other materials that have proven vital to ongoing services at the Pernier Clinic and Sacred Heart Hospital.
o    Real Medicine signs an agreement to continue to support Sacred Heart Hospital & the Pernier Clinic with medical supplies, pharmaceuticals & medical personnel over the long-term.

➢    Week Five (Feb 18th): RMF establishes a relationship with Quisqueya Christian School’s Coordination Center in Delmas, Port-au-Prince to coordinate the ongoing procurement of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and international medical personnel for Pernier Clinic and Sacred Heart Hospital.  The result is the regular fulfillment of all support needs each week on a proactive basis.

o    RMF deploys a licensed and highly-trained physical therapist to Sacred Heart Hospital to manage the physical therapy needs of SH’s population of 72 in-house patients (including about 30 amputees) and ongoing daily flow of walk-in patients (about 150 per day).  Therapist goes on to train local Haitian volunteers to perform therapy sessions, while providing physical rehabilitation, prosthetic-fitting & basic counseling services.
o    RMF secures a local Haitian OB/Gyn once a week for the Pernier Clinic’s maternal health program.
o    RMF deploys a team of 5 ER nurses and 1 nurse practitioner to Sacred Heart to assist ongoing Intensive Care & Treatment Services.
o    RMF deploys a team of 3 Stanford physicians to the Pernier Clinic and Sacred Heart over a one-week placement, including 1 pediatrician, 1 surgeon and 1 general practice physician.

➢    Week Six (Feb 25th): Patient data management advisory & support:
o    RMF assists in the creation n of a patient file-management system for Pernier Clinic, to enable patient tracking & referral for ongoing follow-up treatment.
o    Real Medicine identifies a Stanford University-based public health program offering patient tracking modules and inclusion within a global health data network.  Continuing to work on implementation for improved patient referral capacity, oversight and hospital advocacy.

Long-Term Strategy:

➢   Primary Health Clinics: RMF has identified 15 site placements for future primary health clinics, and is working through local partners, including Medishare, PIH and others, to identify supplies & materials sourcing providers, local Haitian staffing and local referral facility networks.

o    RMF has completed a comprehensive assessment of primary healthcare clinic placements throughout the country, with stress being placed on over-strained regions of high IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) populations.
o    Real Medicine has identified local medical officers to oversee the establishment of clinics throughout Haiti.
o    RMF is working through the local partner, Acra, and other suppliers to facilitate supplies procurement for new clinics.
o    RMF has formed a standard set of supplies and pharmaceuticals needs per clinic, customized for Haitian primary health needs.

➢    Mobile Clinics: As part of Real Medicine Foundation’s longer term strategy, RMF has submitted proposals for a fleet of 6 mobile clinics to be deployed throughout Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas based upon our own successful model implemented in Mozambique and lessons learned on the ground in Haiti.

o    RMF has completed an assessment of public health needs for major departments in Haiti, concluding with a comprehensive plan for Mobile Clinic deployments throughout the country to support resettlement of Internally-Displaced Populations.
o    US Contractor has been identified & is awaiting order placements.
o    Shipping contractor has been identified & priced.
o    Real Medicine has identified potential staffing through local medical schools, Medishare and Sacred Heart’s network of local medical professionals.

➢    Rehabilitation Program: Real Medicine has completed plans to setup at least 4 rehabilitation programs to be based initially out of the Port-au-Prince primary health clinics.  These programs will initially be run by US-trained therapists with the intention of training & employing Haitians over the longer-term.  It will offer two main components:

o    Physical Therapy provision – the establishment of intensive 2-week programs tailored by a US specialist to fit the specific needs of the individual patient.
o    Training and Internship Program – the Rehabilitation programs will each offer two-part classroom training and work-intensive internships to 2 Haitians per every 3 months to support long-term job creation for locally-sourced staffing at the clinics.

➢    Referral Hospital Support: Real Medicine has formulated plans to support equipment replacement and upgrades, local staffing and longer-term hospital expansion efforts for Sacred Heart Hospital, with the potential to expand these services to other referral hospitals in the region.  Specific components of support:

o    Imaging equipment replacement & upgrades.
o    Laboratory equipment upgrade.
o    Operational support for local Haitian staffing.
o    30-Bed Public Wing construction and staffing (longer-term).